The Internet comprise multiple interconnected computer networks so that any computer on a given network can communicate with one or more computers on any other given network. A gateway computer is a computer which interconnects two networks and passes data from one network to the other(s).
All the computers on the Internet communicate through certain communication protocols, i.e., Internet Protocol (IP). Most applications use Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) along with the Internet Protocol. Therefore the Internet is also referred as a TCP/IP network. Any computer connected to Internet is identified by a unique Internet address.
The Internet uses a well known packet-switch technology to route information. On the Internet, the data is transferred through packets (also called IP packets) with an address. The speed and reliability of transmission of the IP packets rely on the data traffic and routing. For an example of internetworking communications, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,852 to Attanasio et al. entitled "Method and Apparatus for Making a Cluster of Computers Appear as a Single Host on a Network" issued Dec. 6, 1994 which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Some common Internet applications include Electronic Mail, FTP, Telnet and Network news among others. Internet communication protocols and applications are well known.
The World Wide Web (i.e., WWW or Web) is an information service system which is based on the Internet. The WWW uses Hypertext and client/server technology.
Hypertext is a method of organizing and presenting information such that any data object in a hypertext file can have links to other hypertext files or data objects. For example, while viewing a hypertext page, a user can select a word which has links. This may bring the user to another hypertext file which contains more text and picture explaining this word. (The new file may also have more links to other hypertext files and so forth.)
Currently the hypertext file is organized using a HyperText Markup Language (HTML). A hypertext data object can be almost any information medium such as text, image, sound, movie or even a piece of an executable computer program. Any hypertext file on the Web is uniquely identified by its Universal Resource Locator (URL).
The Web client or client (commonly a computer executing a program called a browser) is essentially a hypertext reader which communicates with a Web server through certain data transfer protocols, such as a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The client can request a hypertext file with its URL and display the file on a graphical user interface (GUI). This display is called a web page. The client can also pass certain data back to the server and can invoke the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs on the server computer to conduct certain tasks. Browsers are commonly known. One popular Browser is Netscape Navigator. "Netscape Navigator" is a trademark of the Netscape Communications Corporation.
Using the world wide connections of the Internet, the WWW allows a user, being anywhere on the Internet, to post any hypertext file on the WWW and fetch any hypertext file from all over the world as conveniently as using a local hard disk. This gives the user a tremendous power to acquire information and also turns the Internet into a hypermedia global database, i.e., the information superhighway.
The Internet and the WWW have been growing explosively over the past few years. Businesses have also seen the great potential of using the Internet and WWW as the new generation of world-wide communication infrastructure to approach a massive consumer market.
Even though the Web technology gives a user great ability to access/send all kinds of information anywhere in the world, currently users basically have to "travel alone," i.e., users can not present the same information on their web page as other users who are concurrently browsing.